St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1887-06-06
GODS WONDERFUL WORKS.
A Sermon at Trinity Lutheran
Church by Rev. Gjertsen.

n sermon dC lfInity AutlIcTstN
Church by Rev. Gjertsen.
At Trinity Norwegian Lutheran
church Rev. Father Gjertsen preached
from Acts II, 1-12, 1.-The Wonderful
Works of Cod"
We do hear them speak in our tongues
the wonderful works of God. Christ
had spoken of fire he was to kindle,
and how he longed that it might burn;
this is the day. 1t is kindled on the day
of PentecoSt. In the world a new year
is ringing in. The bells are Ginning,
and the whole world listens to their call.
There are three great church festivals,
Christmas, Easter and PentecoSt. 1t
was an angel that delivered the first
Christmas sermon: Unto you this day
has come Saviour" 1t was an angel
who preached the first Easter sermon:
'Christ is arisen; he.iS not here" but
1t was a man who delivered the first
PentecoSt sermon, Peter the Apostle.
AS silver is mixed with the copper in
the bell to give it sweet sound, so the
heavenly silver, the Holy Ghost, unites
itself with the human copper, the
tongue of fire with the human tongue
on the day of -PentecoSt, and the year
of jubilee has been ringing in since
then. The disciples were with one ac-
cord in one place expecting and praying
for the fulfllment of the promise of
Christ that they should be baptized
with the Holy Ghost. The Spirit
of God is not acquired by any exertion
or work or wisdom, the spirit of God is
a gift, and comes in response to prayer.
And the spirit bears witness through
the apostles of tho wonderful works
of God. They are not telling their own
feelings. their own Speculations, their
own researches, but the wonderful
things God has done to the glory of His
great name and the salvation of the
world. And this is worth speaking of.
When a great deed has been finished by
man it is told and heard and read and
spread. What are the works of man
to the works of God? What are all
human works. compared with the work
of God, when He through His all-power-
full word creates heaven and EARTH and
when He feeds and cares for and leads
and governs the millions as shepherd
his sheep? 1t was a wonderful work of
God when He led His chosen people by
the hand of Moses out of the land of
bondage, through ocean and desert, to
the promised land. But the greatest of
all the works'of God is the redemption
of the world through the atonement of
Christ. 1t is of this wonderful work of
God the Holy Christ testifies through
the apostles. Peter tells the Jews what
they have done, that they have cruel
fed Christ, the Son of God, the King of
Glory, and what God has done for their
salvation. And He who, with spiritual
power can tell men what they have
done and what God has done for
them, will never be without an audi
dience. There is no testimony in the
world to-day that gathers such masses
of people around it and yields such an
influence over them. In the Greek
mythology there is legend of OrpheuS.
whose song and music on the seven
stringed Tyre had such power, that the
widest animals became tame, the
storms ceased and the stones and rocks
became full of life and motion and
Joined themselves into buildings and
temples. Here it is a reality. When
the spirit of God sings to the world
the song of the wonderful works of
God then storms and strife cease. the
oceans roar is huShed, the wild brutes
are tanned and the hard stones are made
alive and join themselves together into
temple, city, the temple and CITY of
God, built of living stones. | have
heard of boy who was carried away
from his childhood's home into foreign
land. After having become man he
visited his birthplace, but it was all
ing. The house was there, the noun
tains, the fields that he had locked upon
as a child, but he remembered them
not. But as he stands gazing around
him he hears the tones of song, it goes
right through his heart; that song he
had heard in his cradle, on his mothers
lap, from his mothers lips; it is as
though he awakes from dream and
suddenly he remembers all, his child
hoods home, with its mountains and
fields, and the tears pour down over his
cheeks. There is many one here who
has left his childhood'S home and gone
out into the cold, hard world to seek
home there, and the early home is for
gotten, and when you come into the
church and hear the word of God it is
strange scene to you, but when the
spirit of God sings the song of the love
of Christ to your heart, then you will
awake and you will know your home
again, and your heart will become warm
and tender as child'S heart.
The MilIers' Picnic.
AT the meeting of the Operative Mill
ers' association yesterday final arrange
ments for the seventh annual excursion
and picnic at Lake Minnetonka Satur-
day, the 18th inst, were perfected.
Trains will leave the Minneapolis
d St. Louis depot at s, $50 and
9 o'clock. AT Lake Park there
will be addresses, dancing and pro-
pramme of games which will take up
nearly the entire day, including game
Of base ball between the Washburn B.